The Neuhausen-based company's order situation has improved noticeably since the end of last year. In the first quarter of 2021, Balluff recorded a 17% increase in incoming orders compared to the previous year. This means that the order situation in the first quarter is significantly better (+11%) than in the first quarter of the record year 2018. Positive growth impetus is coming primarily from the Asia Pacific and North America regions. In contrast, the European market, which is important for Balluff, is only slowly picking up speed again in view of the still partially shutdown economy.

In 2020, the Balluff Group generated annual sales of EUR 410 million (-13% compared to the previous year). With a 19% decline in sales, the German-speaking region was the hardest hit. Even in the Americas (-13%) and Southern Europe (-13%) regions, Balluff was unable to decouple itself from the severe economic slump caused by the pandemic.

"We reacted quickly and courageously to the economic and structural changes last year," explains Managing Director Frank Nonnenmann, who is responsible for the company's supply chain. For example, the Neuhausen site is currently being developed into an innovation and competence center for networking, software and IIoT solutions, opto- and (magneto-) inductive sensor technology and RFID. In addition, the concentration of production at the two main production sites in Veszprém/Hungary and Chengdu/China is currently taking place in several stages - Balluff will complete this process by the end of the year.

Balluff has invested heavily in the expansion of its own digital infrastructure over the past year. The company already processes around 30% of all orders worldwide digitally and automatically. The company's own web store is available in 30 countries and 14 languages.